The Gators earned their second Southeastern Conference win of the season against Louisiana State Tuesday. The Florida Gators return to Gainesville Saturday to face the No. 20 Missouri Tigers.
This is UF’s third time playing a nationally ranked team this season. A win Saturday would push the Gators’ winning streak to three games — all against SEC opponents.
Florida (9-7, 2-2 SEC) and Missouri (13-3, 2-2 SEC) will have a chance to get above .500 in conference play with a victory.
The Gators’ performance against LSU Tuesday was one of the team's most controlling performances on defense. Florida held Louisiana State to 32.2% shooting from the floor and allowed only 56 points; LSU averages 69.9 points per game.
The teams struggled to score from beyond the arc. The Gators and Tigers made only five 3-pointers each.
Graduate student forward Colin Castleton stepped up for the Gators in their absence of 3-point production. He scored six points in the paint and forced fouls all night. Castleton made 12 of 15 shots from the free-throw line.
His 6-foot-11-inch presence will be needed in the paint once again against Missouri senior forward Kobe Brown. The Missouri big man averages 15.3 points per game and leads the Tigers with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Brown thrives as a ball-handler and shoots well off the dribble from almost any spot on the court. His 250-pound frame also provides a mismatch in the post against smaller defenders.
He’s currently viewed as a potential second-round draft prospect in the 2023 National Basketball Association Draft, according to nbadraft.net.
Missouri’s most recent SEC loss came against the Texas A&M Aggies, 82-64, Wednesday.
Florida’s bench will be without senior forward CJ Felder Saturday. He is away from the team for personal reasons but is open to returning to the team later in the season, head coach Todd Golden said Friday.
“We’re leaving the door open for him,” Golden said, “whenever he feels he’s ready.”
The veteran forward started in eight of UF’s last 14 games. He’s averaging 2.5 points in 13.3 minutes per game.
Sophomore forward Alex Fudge — who started the Gators’ last eight games — has been in a shooting slump for the past two games. He shot 3-7 at Louisiana State Wednesday and only made one of his seven shots against the Georgia Bulldogs Jan. 7.
Golden said Fudge has done a good job keeping Florida in games offensively despite his shooting struggles.
“He’s becoming more of a winning player,” Golden said. “He’s less volatile on the offensive end, and he’s done a really good job cleaning up the defensive glass for us.”
Florida graduate student guard Kyle Lofton has made more than 60% of his shots over the past two games. He scored a season-high 18 points against UGA.
The St. Bonaventure transfer needs only eight more minutes of playing time to move past former Oregon guard Payton Pritchard for the 20th most minutes played in a collegiate career in the last 25 seasons.
Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Contact Brandon Hernandez at bhernandez@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @BranH2001.
Brandon Hernandez is currently the enterprise sports writer and sports podcast host for The Independent Alligator. He likes long walks on the sidewalk and watching basketball tape in his off time. You can find most of his work @BranH2001 on X and on The Courtside Podcast on Spotify.
